Gary Setchell conceded King's Lynn Town's luck finally run out as their unbeaten home league record came to an end on Saturday.

The Linnets boss admitted his players' get out of jail cards had already been used up this term as they slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Belper Town.

Russell Dunkley's fine second-half strike lifted hopes of another comeback at The Walks but it never materialised as George Thomson and Ross Watson's sensational efforts crashed against the crossbar.

Having come back from the dead against Gresley and Brigg, to name just two matches, Setchell held his hands up after his Linnets were properly punished for going 2-0 behind.

The Lynn boss said: 'I've said we can't keep getting out of jail and on Saturday it finally caught up with us.

'It was individual errors. We gifted them the first goal. Their 'keeper punted one down the field, one of their players had one touch, and we're picking it out of the net. It's criminal – as a group. While we're licking our wounds we gave their lad far too much space and it's two.

'They were magnificent finishes but from our point of view they were poor goals to give away. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb. Second-half the spirit of the lads was excellent, we did what we'd done all season, but we couldn't manage to get the points.

'Obviously we're disappointed because we were proud of our home record.'

The defeat – Lynn's first in nine Evo-Stik Division One South matches at The Walks – saw Setchell's second-placed charges slip seven points behind Coalville Town.

It also compounded back-to-back losses for the first time this campaign – something Setchell is only too aware of.

'I said to the lads in the dressing room 'we were second in the league after 14 games but if you lose the next 26 you'll finish in the bottom five',' he said. 'We started slowly on Tuesday, we started very slowly against Belper, and sometimes the players think they're invincible. We've had two stark reminders now that if you're not at it for 90 minutes there are teams in this league that are going to hurt you.

'We didn't lose through lack of effort. It wasn't through no passion or pride. It was down to a couple of errors and no luck in front of goal. We've probably made the same errors but lads haven't put them in the top corner like they did on Saturday.'

One major bright spot at the weekend was the impressive display from debutant midfielder Thomson. The on-loan Histon playmaker impressed almost everybody, including Setchell.

The Lynn boss said: 'George came in and I thought he was excellent. He passes the ball well and he did everything I wanted him to do. He was a major plus point.'